Sweet Dreams of Green
by GayPrincePeach
Summary: M/M Slash Fic, Bowser/Luigi. Luigi's undercover mission backfires and he ends up trapped in Bowser's clutches - but unforeseeable event endanger their lives and force them to work together. Complicating matters is that Luigi's been having some rather... romantic dreams regarding his enemy. Will their relationship work out? Or will they be buried under the burdens of the past?
1. Princess Luigi

[It's time for the first chapter! This fanfic deals with a budding romance between Bowser and Luigi, and homosexual themes as well as some themes dealing with emotional abuse and trauma. Also, there's some minor Mario and Peach fluff throughout the story as well.

If you aren't into gay pairings, then feel free to turn back. I won't judge you.

If you're sensitive about abuse, I will be including some warnings in at the beginning of chapters that deal with it.

As always, I do not own the characters in this story, they are the property of Nintendo]

* * *

 _The plan had gone off perfectly. Bowser kidnapped the disguised Luigi, thinking he was really Peach, and Peach was now free to pursue the Ancient Star. By the time Bowser found out about the deception, it would be too late. Luigi held Peach's fan close to his face, even though the surgical mask he was wearing helped disguise his large nose._

 _"Come here, my dear~" Bowser said, approaching Luigi. Luigi made a show out of refusing to look at Bowser, a delicate little cough his only response._

 _Bowser's hands touched Luigi's shoulders and a shiver went up his spine. Not an unpleasant shiver, either._

 _"I know it's you, Luigi..." Bowser said, purring seductively. Luigi felt the blood rush to his face, and he fanned himself with Peach's fan, "you were my target all along."_

 _Bowser turned Luigi around, delicately took his surgical mask off, and leaned in. Luigi could feel the Koopa King's hot breath..._

 _and..._

 _..._

* * *

"WAAAAAH!" Luigi shot up in bed, sweating heavily, and blushing deeper than the time one of the mushroom retainers walked in on Mario showering.

Mario leaped out of bed and was at Luigi's side in a split second.

"Luigi!? Are you okay?" Mario asked, his eyebrows knitted together in brotherly concern.

"Y-yeah..." Luigi said, letting his heart calm down for a second, "I just had a... really weird dream, is all."

Mario smiled, sitting at the foot of his brother's bed, "Feeling stressed over playing body double?"

Luigi gulped and nodded, "I dreamed that Bowser was hitting on me, bro."

After a second, Mario started laughing so hard he fell off of Luigi's bed. As embarrassed as Luigi was, Mario's laughter was oddly comforting, and he felt his tension leave him as he realized how silly his dream was. He joined in the laughter, too.

"Oh Luigi, no wonder you woke up screaming, I would too!"

However, Luigi still felt a little unsettled. It wasn't actually the fact that Bowser was hitting on him that woke him up, was it? It felt like there was something else that startled him awake...

He couldn't quite remember that last part of the dream, the shock of waking it up had clouded it over.

It was nothing to worry about, though. For now, he had a job to do.

"Well, come on and get dressed, bro, we got things to do."

Oh right. He _did_ have a job to do. He had to go play body double for Peach and get kidnapped by the biggest baddest koopa in the land.

Luigi shivered as he stood up. Why did _he_ have to be blessed with the right frame to be Peach's body double?

* * *

It wasn't long before they reached the fortress where Peach was staying at. She had decided to tour the kingdom as part of a campaign to improve relations between the royalty and their constituents. In fact, she was so determined that she was even traveling in spite of a nasty cold, which forced her to wear a surgical mask.

Or rather, that was the story being told. In truth, she simply exploiting her hay fever to help sell Luigi's disguise. The entire campaign, while a genuine gesture, was also a ploy to tempt Bowser into trying to kidnap her. She made sure that someone would leak information about her route in such a way that Bowser's spies would hear it, and made sure that her next stop would be where Bowser would be most inclined to strike – on top of Mushroom Hill, which was close to her kingdom's borders and thus quite easy for Bowser to fly in and grab her.

But it wouldn't be Peach that would be kidnapped this time.

Pausing to sneeze delicately, she put the finishing touches on Luigi, pinning her broach to his chest.

"There, Luigi, you're now the spitting image of myself," Peach said, smiling. Luigi smiled too, though his was hidden behind the surgical mask that Peach was wearing previously.

The Princess herself was wearing a simple brown robe with a hood to hide her hair and face, same as the one Mario was now wearing.

"When you get kidnapped by Bowser, Mario and I will sneak off to Astrolandia to see about that Ancient Star that was found there."

Luigi nodded, remembering that they needed Peach to go there personally, since the Ancient Star would only respond to a Royal of the Mushroom Kingdom.

"I'm really sorry to put you through this Luigi, but you're the only one who actually looks like me in my dress," Peach said, her face becoming a little downturned, "And I know you're a bit frightened... but I'm sure you'll be okay. You've faced off against Bowser alone before."

Luigi grinned bravely, but his heart was pulsing. He never wanted to do this sort of thing, but there were times when his fear of losing his friends overcame his fear of facing danger and he could find the strength to move forward.

Peach kissed him on the cheek, and he blushed and laughed awkwardly. Mario chuckled politely at Luigi's happy expression.

"Come on, Mario, we've gotta get going so 'Princess Peach' can continue her tour," Peach said, winking at Mario."

Mario and Luigi shared a brotherly hug before they parted ways.

"Good luck with the Princess!" Luigi said.

"Good luck with Bowser!" Mario responded.

And with that, the Princess and Mario left the room, hiding their faces and leaving through a hidden passage.

Toadsworth marched into the room and Luigi quickly covered his face with Peach's fan. It was time to continue the Royal Tour.

The tour was, so far, uneventful. "Peach" would ride in a car, and wave to the people, stopping now and then to hear from spokespeople. Luigi did his best to listen to everything, but Toadsworth handled the actual talking, on the excuse that the Princess had a sore throat. Luigi was just doing his best not to panic about the plan failing... or worse, succeeding.

It was at the summit of the hill, for a royal picnic for the people of Mushroom Hill Town, when the worst possible event happened – the plan succeeded.

"GWAAAHAHAHAHAHA!" echoed Bowser's voice his air ship flew down from above the clouds, "I've got you now, little princess!"

The guards charged forward, but were quickly overwhelmed by the koopa troopas, whose shells provided natural armor tough enough to protect them from the spears. It took every inch of Luigi's self control to avoid jumping on the koopas himself – if he did, he'd surely blow his cover.

He felt Bowser's large hand grab him from behind, lifting him up as easily as if he were a sack of feathers.

"Gotcha!" was Bowser's rough voice, and Luigi shivered...

* * *

The plan had gone off perfectly. Bowser kidnapped the disguised Luigi, thinking he was really Peach, and Peach was now free to pursue the Ancient Star. By the time Bowser found out about the deception, it would be too late. Luigi held Peach's fan close to his face, even though the surgical mask he was wearing helped disguise his large nose.

"Come here, my dear~" Bowser said, approaching Luigi. Luigi made a show out of refusing to look at Bowser, a delicate little cough his only response.

 _Was... was this going exactly like my dream this morning? Did that mean that..._ Luigi thought, fanning himself and fighting the intense urge to blush.

Bowser chuckled behind Luigi, the deep sound sending a shiver down his spine.

"I know it's you, Green Stache."

 _No tender touch on my shoulder? No leaning into- wait, there were more important things to worry about now. My cover's blown!_

Luigi turned around and made no attempt to modulate his voice,

"H-How'd you know!?"

Bowser laughed, "I have more spies than you realize, Greenie. And while you may have been counting on me to go easy on you and overlook your athletic abilities, that ain't happening! You're my prisoner and I will use you to gain Peach _and_ the Ancient Star at the same time!"

Well. That plan backfired spectacularly.

Luigi fanned himself, worrying about himself, and also Mario and Peach.

And also a slight feeling of... disappointment? Luigi wondered – no, _feared_ what that might mean.

"I suggest you get some sleep, Green Stache. It'll be awhile before we get to my castle."

Bowser laughed his way all the way up the stairs to the bridge. Luigi sighed sadly, removing his dress to reveal his overalls underneath and laying on the cot. He sank into an uneasy sleep.

* * *

 _Bowser turned Luigi around, delicately took his surgical mask off, and leaned in. Luigi could feel the Koopa King's hot breath... and he leaned in as well. Anticipating when their lips were about to touch. Closer and closer... his lips-_

A loud smash woke Luigi up mere moments after he fell asleep, as well as he fact that he was now laying against the wall with the cot laying on top of him.

"What do you mean we've been hit!? Who attacked us!?" Bowser's voice roared, clearly heard even from the brig. "I need ans- WOAAAGHH!"

Luigi managed to crawl to the small window of the cell just in time to see Bowser fall into the forests below. He still couldn't quite process what was happening, just as he couldn't process the large object that was flying towards the ship from the outside. Smashing right where Luigi was, the wooden hull cracked. Luigi breathed a small sigh of relief before the crack opened, sucking him ouside of the ship and sending him falling into he forest below.

Screaming for his life, a small thought came bidden to him as his mind finally caught up to his dream, remembering it.

 _Oh. So THAT'S the made me scream awake this morning._

* * *

[So... Luigi's anxiety-fueled dreams seem to have uncovered some hidden feelings he's had. Guess we'll have to see how he handles them from here onwards.]


	2. A Night in the Woods

[Last time we left off, Luigi and Bowser were hurdling into a mysterious forest that they had been flying over, after being attacked by some mysterious enemy. Who could have attacked them? And furthermore, why? These questions are second to the most important question... where are they, and how do they get out?]

* * *

Luigi coughed leaves out of his mouth as he came to, and immediately fell out of the tree he had landed on. Groaning, he stood up, aching all over.

But he was alive.

And judging by the loud growling and roaring sounds, Bowser was alive, too, and not in a good mood.

Fearing the greater koopa's anger, Luigi started to run in the opposite direction from the angry noises.

He could hear Bowser angrily demanding help. Then... sadly pleading for help.

Luigi stopped in his tracks and sighed. Why did he have to be a hero?

He turned around and walked _towards_ the loud and scary sounds, cursing himself for the good morals he and Mario always aspired to, helping everyone in need, even if they're enemies.

And it's true that while they weren't always met witth gratitude, sometimes they found great allies that way, too.

It wasn't long before Luigi found Bowser, having crashed through a tree, utterly stuck in it.

Bowser turned to look at Luigi and snarled... which would have been intimidating if Bowser's cheeks didn't flush red from embarrassment.

"Oh look, it's Green Stache, here to laugh at the big bad Bowser stuck in a tree!"

Luigi tried to not laugh, but he couldn't help it – he actually did start laughing at the comical sight, which just made Bowser roar and start struggling more, which just made Luigi laugh harder.

All tension removed, Luigi wiped a tear from his eye and approached the very stuck Bowser,

"What are you doing!?" Bowser cried, "Keep your plumbing hands off of me!"

"Now Bowser, believe it or not, I'm here to help you out," Luigi said, grinning, "Though if you breathe fire at me, I might just run for my life and leave you here."

"No, don't!" Bowser said, suddenly fearful. If that fear wasn't so genuine, Luigi might have found it comical. He _should_ have found it comical. But it sobered him up a bit. "I'll be good, just please get me out of here."

Luigi nodded and walked around the tree. It seemed like the only options were to either pull him out or push him out from behind. He told the King as much.

"Pull! I don't want you anywhere near my tail – not after what you brothers keep doing with it!"

Luigi briefly remembered how he and Mario would swing him around by said tail and fought back a chuckle. He resolved to try pulling Bowser out. Grabbing him by a hand, he pulled hard, bracing himself against the tree itself.

"Ow ow OW OW STOP!" Bowser cried, and Luigi stopped. Bowser fought back the urge to cry from the pain. "The wood's digging into my body!"

Luigi rubbed his chin for a moment. He could remember sometting – when he and Mario were children, Mario got his finger stuck in a small hole, and their father used something slick to grease it with so he could pull the finger out.

"Hold on for a moment, Bowser, I'll be right back!"

Bowser whimpered pitifully, unable to do anything else.

* * *

It didn't take Luigi long to find what he was looking for – a tree with a plenty of sap oozing off of it. Luigi took a large piece of bark and gathered as much of the sap on it as he could. It was sticky and slick – perfect! When he thought he'd gathered enough, he took it back to Bowser.

"What are you going to do with that, Green?" Bowser asked, eyeing the sap suspiciously.

"I'm gonna grease you up and pop you out of there like cork out of a bottle!"

Bowser raised an eyebrow at that and Luigi laughed self-consciously, "It sounded better in my head."

With that, Luigi set to greasing Bowser, starting at the back end. Bowser grumbled, probably because Luigi was near his tail, but Luigi got the edges of Bowser's hips greased up, and...

...Was it getting hot in the forest suddenly? Luigi fanned himself, feeling a bit flushed, before moving around to the front, greasing the back of Bowser's shell and around his belly.

Bowser snorted... multiple times.

Luigi paused for a moment... and experminetally poked at Bowser's side. Bowser snorted again.

 _Oh my Stars..._ Luigi thought, and he found himself grinning.

"Oh Bowseerrrrrr... are you ticklish?" Luigi asked.

Bowser's fearful face said it all, "No! Ofcoursenot! I'mnotticklishatall! Don'tyoudare!"

Luigi grinned, "Then I guess you'll be fine if I do this."

Gathering sap in both hands, he started to aggressively grease all around Bowser's belly and sides, using his fingers more than anything.

Bowser didn't even last one second before he started to guffaw and laugh, struggling.

"Nohohoho! Stahahap that! Plehehhease!"

"If you want me to stop, you'll have to call me by name!"

"Greeheheheeen! Pleease stahahahap!"

"That's not my name~" Luigi said, now blatantly tickling Bowser's belly. Bowser tried to swipe his hands away but Luigi was too quick for him, moving around.

"LUIGI STAAHAHAHAP!"

Luigi grinned, stopping, and Bowser panted for air, cheeks redder than a super mushroom.

"Happy now, Gr- Luigi?" Bowser said, hastily correcting himself.

"Yep."

And with that, Luigi grabbed Bowser's hand and pulled once again. After a strenuous moment of tugging, Bowser popped out of the hole in the tree, landing on the ground.

Luigi, feeling quite proud of himself, went to help Bowser up, grabbing him by the hand.

Bowser responded by standing up, lifting the much smaller plumber into the air, grinning angrily at him.

"You're gonna going to tell _no one_ about what happened here, or I will be adding 'Roast Luigi' to my dinner options, capiche?" Bowser said, grinning maliciously.

Luigi nodded rapidly, suddenly regretting many of his life's decisions leading up to this point.

"Good. Now, I would take you prisoner, but with no airship, that would mean carrying you the entire way to my castle, and uh..." Bowser looked around, dropping Luigi, "I don't even know where that is anymore."

And that's when Luigi realized that they were completely and totally lost.

* * *

Bowser and Luigi sat near a fire that night, waiting for someone to come find them. Hopefully, the fire would attract anyone looking for them, whether they were Toads or Bowser's army. At this point, Luigi would take either.

In their mutual silence, Luigi pondered the events of the day. That strange dream this morning, the way he reciprocated Bowser's affection in the second dream... he couldn't exactly call them nightmares. Nightmares were scary. These dreams were just... he didn't know what to think of them.

Looking at Bowser, he observed him in a new light – literally, he'd never seen him in front of a campfire before. Bowser stared into the campfire, deep in thought. Bowser wasn't... conventionally attractive, by any means. Not being human, for one. And yet, Luigi felt maybe... just maybe... there was something...

"So, uh, how are you and Daisy?" Bowser said, Luigi nearly jumping a foot into the air at the silence being broken suddenly, "You two still going steady or...?"

Luigi laughed nervously, trying to pretend he wasn't just staring at Bowser intensely, "Oh, well, uh... actually, we broke up."

"Oh, uh... that's harsh?" Bowser said. It was clear that he was not good at small talk.

"Not really. It was sort of a mutual decision – we got together during a tennis event and started dating then, but we realized that the relationship wouldn't seriously go anywhere so we decided to break it off. We're still good friends, though, and we've become pen pals."

"Pen... pals?" Bowser asked, tilting his head inquisitively.

"We write to each other now, telling each other about our lives, that sort of thing."

"Ah..." Bowser said, looking down at the ground, "I guess that sounds nice?"

"You don't have a friend to write to?" Luigi asked

"I don't really have a friend, period." Bowser said timidly.

The awkward silence fell over the duo like a rainy cloud.

"I uh... guess I could be your friend?"

Bowser snorted, "No way! I don't need friends anyways, I've got a kingdom, I've got my son, and I've got the Seven Koopalings! I'm not so lonely that I'm willing to buddy up with a plumber!"

"Ah, well, uh... good for you?" Luigi said, awkwardly.

The awkward silence returned.

"...So, uh... about Junior... I've always wondered... who's his 'mama?'"

Bowser sighed, "Someone who I would rather not remember. I banished her, and she returned only to dump Junior on my doorstep." He grimaced, "He's literally the only good thing about that relationship."

"Ah... well at least you have that, then," Luigi said, nodding, "You may be a lot of things, Bowser, but you're a good dad."

Bowser seemed taken aback by the genuine compliment, but he smirked pridefully nonetheless.

Neither of them said anything more that night. They didn't need to.

* * *

[Oh boy, looks like they're starting to become a bit friendlier with each other now! And a cute little bit of teasing by Luigi, too. Luigi's starting to get some feelings there. Also, yay for Bowser attempting small talk! I didn't want to rush this relationship, though Luigi is just starting to realize he finds Bowser _attractive_.]


	3. Lost Woods

[This will probably be the last bit I upload today - I'll upload some more tomorrow. I wrote a bunch in advance, by the way, though I did have to change how I divided these chapters to be a bit more substantial for the sake of distributing. Hope you enjoy!]

* * *

Meanwhile, in the ancient land of Astrolandia, Mario and Peach had made it most of the way through one of the eight ruins – ruins which guarded ancient keys needed to access the chamber of the Ancient Star.

The Ancient Star, a marvelous power which was sealed away to prevent it from falling into evil hands. With it, one could ensure prosperity for one's kingdom... or total tyranny over the world.

They approached the final chamber of this ruin, where a stone guardian stood, a giant animated statue with a large face and a deadly sharp spear held in its hand. So far, things had been easy sailing between Mario's acrobatic prowess and Peach's powerful white magic...

The guardian settled into an attack stand, as Peach put her hands together and prayed fervently to the stars for power.

"YoOooOoUuuu who intruUuuUUude on this sacred laAaaAaaand..." spoke the stone guardian, his voice echoing through unmoving lips. Mario stood prepared as Peach lifted her arms up and channeled her power, a rainbow mote of light above her head.

"PrepaaAaaaAre yourselves for baaAaaAatle..."

The rainbow light took on the shape of a star.

"Now... diiIIIiie!"

Peach pointed at Mario, and the star flew into him. Immediately, he began to shimmer with rainbow energy. Then... she fell to her knees.

"Oh," was the guardian's shocked reaction.

Mario charged into the stone guardian with the power of the rainbow star, shattering his foe to pieces. With a cheer, he ran back to the Princess, who still on her knees.

"You okay Princess? That was a pretty powerful spell!"

"I'll be fine, Mario... thank you for your concern," Peach said, taking Mario's hand and standing up again. "The spell _is_ exhausting, but I think I can safely cast it once a day without hurting myself.

They lingered, Mario holding Peach's hand as they smiled into each other's eyes. They never got to go on adventures together, and so far, this one had been wonderful. Breaking eye contact, they turned towards the back of the room. Past the now open door was an altar with a glowing key floating above it. And behind the altar was a warp pipe – a shortcut out of these ruins. Grabbing the key, they took the warp pipe out.

"A LETTER FOR MARIO AND PEACH!" came a panicked voice, startling Mario so badly that he actually fell on his butt.

"Oh my! Parakarry, what's wrong?" Peach said to the source of the voice, a flustered postal paratroopa in goggles.

"I've... I've got a letter for both of you... from Bowser."

Mario and Peach looked at each other in surprise. A letter to both of them? Specifically, Peach? That could only mean that Bowser knew. Mario took the letter from Parakarry and opened it, reading it aloud to Peach and Parakarry, who fluttered nervously.

"To my nemesis, Mario

Bwahahaha! You fool, I knew you and the Princess would try to trick me into capturing Luigi instead! That is why I will hold him hostage until you deliver both the Princess _and_ the Ancient Star to me! Your little gambit has backfired on you! Bwahahahaha!

Sincerely,

King Bowser Koopa."

Mario nearly tore the letter in half, he was gripping it so tight. He knew that this was the risk of sending Luigi undercover, but his brother was in deeper trouble than they had anticipated. They had thought that he'd be in a position where he could, at least, make an escape attempt...

"Mario..." Peach said, "I'm sorry."

"Me too," Mario admitted.

"And me," Parakarry said, "I tried to act on my suspicion when Bowser gave me a letter to both of you guys, but you guys were one step ahead of me already and before I could get to Luigi, he had already been kidnapped."

"Oh Parakarry," Peach said, smiling sadly, "We thank you, but you're not to blame. The postal koopas are supposed to remain neutral, remember? Even so, we appreciate what you tried to do."

Mario nodded in agreement, but Parakarry was still quite upset.

"There's also another matter. Bowser's airship was shot down not long after he captured Luigi. And no one's heard from either of them since!"

Mario and Peach's mouths fell open in shock. Things just went from bad to worse.

"The worst part is, no one knows who shot them down in the first place!"

* * *

 _Luigi was sitting at a dinner table next to Bowser. Opposite them sat Mario and Peach. And next to them were... Daisy and Peasley? Except Peasley had a funny wig perched precariously on top of his fabulous hair._

 _"It was so lovely of you to invite us out for a triple date, Luigi." Daisy said. "I'm so glad you recommended Peasley to me. You were right – he's quite charming."_

 _"Oh yeah!" Luigi said, suddenly remembering a conversation that never happened._

 _Peasley said something but Luigi was distracted by Mario ringing his champagne glass._

 _"A toast! To my brother, who dated our enemy, and the future of Pepperoni Pizza, delivered on time!"_

 _Luigi raised a peace of toast to that entirely reasonable sounding declaration._

 _"Luigi," Bowser leaned in to whisper, "Why are you sleeping on my belly?"_

 _"What do you mean?" Luigi responded, "I'm sitting over here, and your belly is over there."_

 _"Luigi... get off of me!"_

Luigi landed next to Bowser with a thud, staring blearily at the morning sky. Bowser was glaring at him.

"What just... happened?" was Luigi's drowsy response. The ground was especially solid this morning.

"Why are you asking ME!?" Bowser said, grumbling angrily. "You were the one sleeping on my belly!"

"Maybe I... sleepwalked?" Luigi guessed. When he had gone to sleep, he was laying on the ground... he had no idea when he migrated to Bowser's belly.

"Well, I AM NOT A BED! So don't do that EVER again, you hear me?!"

"Gotcha," Luigi said, quite embarrassed. The weird dream he had was now gone from his thoughts as he yawned and stretched.

"No one came for us, so I guess we'll have to get out of here ourselves," Bowser said, tossing dirt on the dwindling fire to put it out. How odd... to see Bowser putting out fire instead of creating it.

"Huh, I didn't think you'd be into fire safety," Luigi said.

"Are you kidding me? Why WOULDN'T I be into fire safety? Firebreathers gotta learn that crap or we'd never make it past puberty," Bowser said incredulously and clearly offended by Luigi's thoughtless statement.

Luigi pondered that. It honestly did make sense and he felt a little ashamed for not thinking about it sooner.

"Sorry, Bowser," Luigi said.

Bowser simply grunted. Luigi shrugged, deciding that it was better than what Bowser could possibly do to him later.

After making sure no embers could set anything on fire, the two of them picked a direction and traveled that way.

Onwards they traveled through featureless forest.

Luigi missed his hat – it had been left behind out of necessity, and he didn't have a way to keep it on his person.

Forward they went through the repetitive trees.

Bowser grumbled about burning the trees down if they didn't find anything resembling a landmark soon.

His wishes were answered when they stumbled upon a landmark – their own campsite.

"Argh! We just went in a big fat circle!" Bowser said, mouth glowing with fiery rage.

"Whoa whoa whoa, calm down Bowser!" Luigi said, trying to avoid either of them burning alive in a forest fire.

Bowser growled with rage, but he calmed down, the fire in his mouth dying as he huffed smoke in his rage.

Luigi tapped his foot, thinking about how familiar this felt. He remembered that Dinosaur Island had a place like this – it was easy to go in a circle despite going perfectly straight, thanks to the magic of the forest.

But was there really a place like this in the Mushroom Kingdom?

"Ohh, I think there's something magic about this forest," Luigi said anxiously, "Like the Lost Woods on Dinosaur Island."

Bowser nodded, remembering now – he had stationed one of the koopalings near there and they reported some weird magical things.

"If I recall correctly, to get out, you had to find hidden paths..." Bowser said. It had been awhile ago, but amidst the rambling of the report, that part stood out.

"Well, sounds like a good idea to me. Maybe we'll find a warp pipe or warp zone or something and we can get out of this place," Luigi said.

They searched carefully. Under rocks, around trees, anything that looked like it could be an exit from this awful forest. Finally, Luigi walked around a boulder and noticed that there was an opening on the other side – one that looked like the entrance to a cave with a tunnel that didn't physically exist on the far side of the bouldder.

"This looks like a hidden path to me!" cried Luigi triumphantly.

The cave itself wasn't a very long cave, either – though it was dark, they could see a light at the end of the tunnel even from the forest side.

"Good work, Luigi!" Bowser said, smiling happily at finally having a way out.

And so they entered the cave, ears popping as they usually do when you enter a magical area.

They weren't prepared for how far the cave would actually take them, however...

...Because they were now on top of a giant snowy mountain, the only visible forest quite a distance away. The cave behind them closed with a magical sound, stranding them there.

The two of them stared out over the completely unfamiliar landscape for a moment. Unable to process the sheer distance they had traveled, or how despite escaping the forest, they were even more lost than before.

Luigi clutched his face and yelled "Where in the Mushroom Kingdom are we?!"


	4. Haunted

[The previous chapters ran a bit on the short side, I think, so I've made an effort to make this a lot bigger than usual. This one is the beginning of the emotional ride, and oh boy, we've got a long way to go.

 **There's an emotional scene in this chapter towards the end that might be a bit sensitive for survivors of psychological abuse. It's nothing particularly intense, but I'm putting this warning here to be safe.** ]

* * *

Luigi had gone catatonic with shake, breathing rapidly and growing pale. Nervously, Bowser grabbed Luigi by the shoulders and began shaking him, shouting into his face to try to shock him aware.

"Luigi! Get ahold of yourself! I know where we are!"

Luigi's eyes focused on Bowser and he realized what was going on. Staring into Bowser's concerned, scarlet eyes, he slowed down his breathing. Slowly regaining stable breath, he felt the world around him start to feel real again.

It was about this time that he realized that Bowser's warm hands were holding his shoulders, and that it felt... very nice.

"I-I'm fine now, thanks!" Luigi said, jumping away from Bowser and turning a bright shade of pink. _No, I'm not, what's wrong with me!?_

Bowser tilted his head at Luigi's odd mannerisms, though he couldn't quite get Luigi's blue-eyed gaze out of his head for some reason. The way they came into focus into his own eyes felt... familiar. Immediately pushing those thoughts out of his head, he grumbled, "We're in Astrolandia. We must've crashlanded in the Constellation Forest, and now we're on Sagittarius Peak."

Luigi blinked in astonishment, "Wow, what a coincidence, that's where, um..."

"Where Mario, Peach, and the Ancient Star are, I'm very aware of that, Luigi," Bowser said, flashing that increasingly irritating and lovely grin at him. "Don't worry your hairy little head, though – I don't have any plans to hurt them – or you – so long as you all cooperate."

Luigi felt strangely relieved. It was strange, but Bowser's words felt more like a reassurance than a threat. Still, there were things he worried about. How did Bowser know about the trap to begin with? There was only a small group of people that were in on the conspiracy, and none of them were immigrants from the Dark Kingdom.

In fact, Luigi had to be honest with himself, they were pretty discriminatory about their choices. No koopas, goombas, or lakitu allowed in the circle, aside from Parakarry. Could... he have?

Luigi instantly felt guilty. Parakarry was a very good friend of theirs, and he had just doubted him because of his species. He shivered, as much from the guilt as the cold.

Bowser's words interrupted Luigi's thoughts, "So, Luigi, now that I know we are, I can take you back to your castle and properly imprison you in my walls! Gwaha!"

Luigi nodded quietly, reminded of the situation he was in.

 _I don't HAVE to do this,_ Luigi thought to himself, _I can run away and go back to the Mushroom Kingdom. Except I don't know how to get there. Or I can go find my bro! Except I don't even know where the ruins are. Huh,_ Luigi said, hesitating, _I guess being Bowser's prisoner is honestly my best option._

Luigi ignored the fact that he was looking for every reason to go with Bowser.

"Now, go first so I can keep an eye on ya, Green Sta- I mean, Luigi," Bowser said, pushing Luigi forward towards a path down the mountain. It wasn't long before the sun began to set, and the air began to get incredibly cold.

"Here's a cave," Luigi said, "We can squeeze in there and, uh... keep each other warm?"

Bowser grumbled, but it certainly sounded better than running around a freezing mountain in the dark next to tall cliffs.

* * *

 _Luigi and Bowser sat next to each other on a warm and sunny day. It was a lovely picnic, and Princess Peach had baked several cakes for everyone. They were every bit as delicious as they looked. Luigi smiled up at Bowser, and the two grasped each other's hands. Mario walked up to them, smiling at the two of them, "Hello to the both of you, the happiest couple here!"_

 _"D'aww, bro, you're embarrassing me," Luigi said, blushing. Bowser chuckled at his cute face._

 _"And what about you, Bowser? Don't you feel lucky having Luigi with you?"_

 _Bowser guffawed, "Nah, I totally deserve such a fine plumber! He's the one who should be lucky to have me!~"_

 _"Oh really?" Mario asked, though his voice was no longer the Italian lilt Bowser was used to, but a woman's sultry voice, "Even though you must be the most pathetic koopa king in history?_

Bowser woke up, sweating and panting. They were in the small cave, and Luigi was curled up on his belly, and for a moment, Bowser let himself feel relief. _That voice... why did I have to remember her now, suddenly?_

That's when the rest of the dream hit him, and he just realized he dreamed about Luigi being his... his...

Bowser grumbled and shoved Luigi off of him, making the green plumber awake with a jolt, "Alright, Luigi, the sun's up so your time's up, now let's get moving!"

He didn't want to admit it, but the cold air hitting his belly where Luigi was made him remember his loneliness.

As they traveled down the mountain, Luigi whistled awkwardly in the cold mountain air, trying to think of small talk.

"So, uh, Bowser... any idea who attacked your ship? Lucky shot from the Toads?" Luigi guessed, though he already knew the flaw in that line of thought.

Bowser snorted derisively, "Nah, they thought I had the Princess with me, and they wouldn't risk hurting her... nor would they risk hurting you, as well."

"I don't really know if I'm all that special," Luigi said, scratching the back of his head, "Other than the fact that I'm Mario's brother and all. I'm just Green Stache after all."

Bowser rolled his eyes, "They may not always know your name, but they know you're Mario's brother and that's enough for them."

"Uh, thanks?" said Luigi, not quite sure if that was meant to be reassuring or demoralizing.

Suddenly, Luigi's foot went through the snow into thin air, and with a sudden screech, he plummeted out into the open air. No sooner had this happened than Bowser's arm shot out, grabbing Luigi by the hand, and quickly pulling him back.

"Y-y-y-y-you saved me, Bowser..." Luigi said and, overcome with relief, hugged Bowser tightly, just about crying.

Bowser blushed a bit, not sure how to react. Still, he found himself starting to reach around Luigi, his arms moving in a stilted motion as if he had never hugged anyone before in his life, even though he'd had plenty of practice hugging his son.

Luigi, recovering from the shocked, realized that he was hugging Bowser and gasped, leaping back from Bowser, his face almost as red as Mario's overalls. Bowser's cheeks were quite pink as well, and the two of them shared and awkward laugh. Bowser tried to say something, but the only word that came out was, "Well, I, Uh..."

And for a moment, their eyes met, and they stared, unable to look away. Scarlet eyes meeting blue, and time stood still for a split second.

"LORD BOWSER!" cried a young, eloquent voice, and startled the two of them. Fortunately for them, they heard the voice before the source of it saw them, as an economy-sized airship flew up from around the edge of the mountain, a blue-haired koopaling at the helm.

Several magikoopas were on board, as well as Ludwig, who was looking quite relieved to see his king safe and sound – and with Luigi, just as he planned, "Oh my lord, there you are! It's good to see you! And your captive, too!"

Bowser grabbed Luigi with one hand, and Luigi squealed in surprise.

"Good work, Ludwig! Now take us back to the castle! I've had enough of magic forests and cold mountaintops!"

* * *

"Anyways, Sire, as it turns out, the Constellation Forest is so confusing that not even our magic could find you, sire. We saw the smoke, but every time we tried to get close, we ended up at the edge of the forest again! It took us awhile to find you on the mountain because, well, one of the Goombas managed to..."

"Uh,huh," Bowser said, clearly not listening. Not that Ludwig minded, he just carried on with his explanation. Bowser, however, was lost in thought, especially in regards to matters that transpired immediately before their ill-timed rescue.

Luigi had been tied up quite thoroughly, though the truth of it was, he probably wouldn't have tried to escape anyways. He had nowhere to go, and the only thing he could think about were Bowser's eyes. Those magnificent, scarlet eyes that were filled with pain.

 _Why did I see pain in those eyes?_ Luigi thought, _That wasn't revulsion, was it?_

It was a long flight back to the castle, and filled with an hour of Ludwig explaining details that nobody had asked for. Luigi slowly drifted into sleep, wondering what internal conflict could lead Bowser to make such a pained expression.

* * *

Meanwhile, in an unknown location, two shadows in the darkness began speaking.

"Has she been eliminated?" came an authoritative voice.

"No, your graces, it turns out she was not on board, and even if she was, the impact would have failed to kill her. I am sorry," said a younger, dutiful voice."

"We understand this failure. We did not anticipate that the Opener could be so cunning. You are permitted to try again," came a different, authoritative voice.

"I must not fail this time," the dutiful voice said again.

* * *

 _All was silent, save for the breeze and the stars above._

 _The starts above twinkled silently, without judgment or malice._

 _Luigi approached Bowser, who stared at him sorrowfully, and Luigi's heart ached, too._

 _"I love you," Luigi said._

 _"That's what I'm afraid of," was Bowser's reply._

 _Silence reigned over the night once again._

Luigi woke up as they were docking into Bowser's Castle. It seems he had drooled against the ship's deck in his sleep. Suddenly, his world flipped around as Bowser picked Luigi up, slinging him over his shoulder.

"Lord Bowser, no need to sully yourself with menial labor by dragging the prisoner to the cells! You're a king, and we're your servants, so order us to do as you please!

Bowser quirked his eyebrow, "Well, in this case, I order you to respect my right to carry a _measly_ prisoner down to the prison. I am not some weak, pampered king that needs everyone else to carry my burdens for me!"

Ludwig hastily backpedaled, "N-No sir, of course not! You're our mighty king, and we would never think of insulting you! But I must insist that you travel with an escort at the very least!"

Luigi felt Bowser shrug and say, "Fine, I have no objection to that."

"We are at your command, Sir!" a pair of koopas said in unison, saluting their king. Bowser nodded and proceeded down a set of stairs, his escort following. Down, down they went, and soon they arrived in the damp prison that Bowser kept all prisoners. Well, that is, except for the Princess.

Untying Luigi, Bowser pushed him into one of the cells, locking the door behind him. Luigi awkwardly stood up and stretched, just happy to be able to move his limbs again.

"Leave us, I have to interrogate the prisoner," Bowser said.

"Yes, sire!" the koopas said, marching up the stairs.

Soon, it was just the two of them, and the awkward silence. Luigi coughed.

"So, um.. out of curiosity... how much do you love Princess Peach?" Luigi asked, not sure why this was was coming out of his mouth, "I mean, you capture her all the time."

Bowser laughed, "She's very beautiful, and she'd make a great mother and wife, but do I _love_ her? No. Not really."

"Wait, really?" Luigi asked, in confusion, "Why?"

"There are only two things in this world that I love. I love me, and I love my son, Junior. Junior needs a mother and I'd love a wife to handle those queenly affairs that aren't really appropriate for big strong kings like me to handle. But there's no way I can love Peach. Just like... there's no way someone like her can love me."

Luigi saw it in Bowser's eyes again – the conflict and pain. And the question he really wanted to ask choked in his throat instead.

Bowser's face hardened and he grimaced in disgust. _Am I really letting my heart out to Luigi like this?_

"Now, you're going to stay here. You're better to me unspoiled, but if you cause trouble, I'll be forced to hurt you. Mario should have received my letter by now, so he and the princess better hurry up with their little quest if they hope to save you."

Bowser turned around and felt a heaviness in his chest. _Guilt? Why would I feel guilty about this?_

"Oh, and... Luigi," Bowser said again, "Try to make this easy for both of us. I really don't want to hurt you." _Why did I say that?!_

Bowser left, biting his lip.

Luigi took a moment to process everything. Now he really was Bowser's prisoner. He was in danger, and by extension, so were Mario and Peach. Curling up in the cell's cot, he suddenly felt all of the emotion flood out. Grabbing the lump that counted as a pillow, he began to sob into it.

He sobbed at how scared he was of things that might happen to him. The danger he was in. And he sobbed at his confused feelings – he didn't _want_ to be falling in love with Bowser, it was just happening, and every time he looked at that handsome koopa, it just got worse. He sobbed because he _wanted_ to be in love with Bowser, and he wanted Bowser to be in love with him.

And finally, he sobbed for Bowser. Even though he didn't know what it was, he knew that Bowser was suffering, and his heart broke at that thought as well.

* * *

Bowser made a beeline for his room. Unfortunately, just about everybody in the castle wanted business with him, despite his urgent need to be alone right now.

"Junior, I know you're glad to see me, but Papa's tired and needs to go lie down now. Be a good boy and go play a prank on the koopa troopas or something."

"Yes, papa!" was Junior's delighted reply, and he ran off towards the barracks. The representative for the koopa troopas did a double take and took off after Junior.

 _Good, not only is Junior out of the way, but so is that one troopa. Now I can stop mincing my words._

"Look, I don't care if a Magikoopa turned one of you into a statue, go bother Kamek about it, or I'll have him turn YOU into a statue!"

Another group of minions left, and another, until finally, it as just the persistent Wendy.

"Lord Bowser, can I go see the prisoner? Is he as ha- horrid as I've heard? Do you think green would look good on me? Please, sir, gimme an answer!"

"WENDY!" he roared, covering his face, eyes watering in frustration, "I have a **HEADACHE** and if you keep bothering me, I will **burn all of your clothes to ashes!** "

"E-eep!" Wendy squeaked and ran off towards the koopaling dorms.

Free of all nuisance, Bowser stomped in his room and slammed the door shut.

 _Finally. I'm alone. Now I can have my pity party in peace..._

He leaned back against the door, the spikes of his shell retracting in. Sliding down the door, he slumped down, holding his chest, where his aching heart throbbed.

"Why?" he said. Tears he had fought back for years, tears which he had thought he had long since buried, started to pour down his face. He shivered, sobbing, "Why...?"

He remembered her. She was a greater koopa like himself, with bright pink hair that was always perfectly messy, with green eyes that glowed like emeralds in sunlight. He loved her, and he thought that she loved him.

When he looked Luigi in the eyes after saving him, it felt like he had become that koopa that had fallen in love with her again. The koopa that would be manipulated into bad decision after bad decision, blame himself for everything, and be guilted into ...

He curled his legs up close to him, sobbing, his eyes and nose leaking. He was a little gross when he cried... just like she said. And for a moment, he once again believed that he was the stupid, inadequate koopa that she said he was. He hated himself for letting himself be weak again, and he hated himself for hating himself.

And he wanted to hate Luigi for bringing back all of these emotions of inadequacy, but he couldn't. Because he knew... he loved him. He hated loving him. He wasn't worthy of love.

"Dammit, Lizabella!" he growled, cursing her once again, "why do you still haunt me!?"

Losing himself in his own pain, he unleashed a one loud wail of agony... and every magically sensitive creature in the castle shook from the force of his emotion.

For the rest of the hour, Bowser's sobs were the only thing that carried him into the dark mists of restless sleep.

* * *

[And whoa, we have a name for Junior's mama now! Or, rather, I should say biological mother. I wanted to avoid using the fanon name Clawdia because I didn't want to sully the concept of that character with this character I'm using for the purposes of this story. Any resemblances to existing OCs is purely coincidental.]


End file.
